Senegal\u2019s President Macky Sall has declared he will not run for a third term in next year\u2019s election, ending years of uncertainty over his political future that helped fuel deadly opposition protests last month.<\/p>\n
In a speech carried live on his official Facebook page, Sall maintained on Monday that Senegal\u2019s constitution would have allowed his candidacy despite having already been elected to a second term in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been much speculation and commentary on my eventual candidature on this election,\u201d Sall said in his speech. \u201cThe 2019 term was my second and last term.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy decision, carefully considered \u2026 is not to run as a candidate in the upcoming election on February 25, 2024 \u2026 even though the constitution grants me the right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Sall\u2019s announcement will likely quell fears of a democratic backslide in Senegal.<\/p>\n
Rumours that the 61-year-old president would try to extend his stay in power have led to bouts of unrest since 2021 in which dozens have been killed.<\/p>\n
Sall, who has not designated a political successor, had been coy about another term.<\/p>\n
Some worried he would follow other regional leaders, including in Ivory Coast and Togo, who used changes to the constitution as an excuse to reset their mandate and extend their hold on power.<\/p>\n
On the eve of Sall\u2019s nationwide address, his fiercest critic, Ousmane Sonko, urged the public to \u201ccome out en masse\u201d and oppose him.<\/p>\n
Sonko, who is popular with Senegal\u2019s disaffected youth, has painted Sall as a corrupt, would-be dictator. \u201cIt\u2019s incumbent on all the Senegalese people to stand up, to face him,\u201d Sonko said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The opposition leader was sentenced on June 1 to two years in jail for \u201ccorrupting\u201d a young beauty-salon worker, sparking protests that led to 16 deaths according to the government, 24 according to Amnesty International and 30 according to Sonko\u2019s party.<\/p>\n
The conviction means he is not eligible to stand in 2024.<\/p>\n
Sonko says the case was staged to prevent him from running, a charge authorities deny. He has been blocked in by the authorities at his home since May 28.<\/p>\n
Sall, in his speech on Monday, asked the government to do everything possible to organise a transparent election in February.<\/p>\n
\u201cSenegal is more than me, and is full of capable leaders for the country\u2019s development,\u201d the incumbent said, adding that he had sought to prioritise his country\u2019s progress, \u201cin particular at a time of social-economic difficulties and uncertainties\u201d.<\/p>\n
Regional leaders, including the presidents of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, Guinea Bissau\u2019s Umaro Sissoco Embalo and the African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, praised Sall\u2019s decision, with Bazoum saying it will ease tensions.<\/p>\n
Aminata Toure, a former prime minister of Senegal, said it was the pro-democracy protests that forced the president to drop his reelection bid.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe [Sall] was the one who suggested through referendum to have a specific item in the constitution that nobody could run more than two consecutive terms, which is his case,\u201d she told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he is just applying the constitution. It\u2019s not like he\u2019s making a heroic move. He should have said that the minute he got reelected in 2019. This would have saved the country all the turmoil and the trouble we went through.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cI\u2019d like to congratulate all the democrats and the young people who stood to defend Senegalese democracy. Without that, President Macky Sall would have run \u2026 It\u2019s also a lesson for other African countries. People need to stand when democracy is at threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporters at Sall\u2019s party headquarters in an upscale neighbourhood in the capital, Dakar, were divided. Some applauded, while others cried.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s his choice and he is our leader. We accept his decision and we will support whoever he designates,\u201d said a female supporter in tears.<\/p>\n
Other residents of Dakar said it was time for change.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want him [Sall] to stand again. We\u2019ve already given him 12 years \u2013 it\u2019s time for him to go and let somebody else take over,\u201d said Abdou Diagne, a 38-year-old car washer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he says otherwise, it\u2019s not a given that people will stand by with their arms folded,\u201d he said. \u201cEither way, we are praying for peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Incumbent president says he will not run in the 2024 election, but insists Senegal\u2019s constitution would have allowed his candidacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":29975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,15],"tags":[7,32,25],"class_list":{"0":"post-29978","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"category-politics","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-music","11":"tag-politics"},"yoast_head":"\n